EFCC, Police Open Investigations as Blessing CEO Cancer Claims Unravel

Police and the EFCC have opened investigations into social media influencer Blessing Okoro, better known as Blessing CEO, over allegations that she faked a cancer diagnosis and used a doctored medical report to raise money from the public.

The Delta State Police Command confirmed it received a petition. “We acknowledge the petitions; we are waiting for the complainants to come and give us their statement. We will thereafter investigate,” said police spokesperson Edefa Bright.

The EFCC confirmed the same. “There was a petition submitted; we received it and we are going to look into it. Whatever comes out of our findings will determine our next line of action,” said the agency’s head of media, Dele Oyewale.

Whose medical report?

The trouble started when Okoro publicly claimed she had been diagnosed with stage four breast cancer. Sympathy poured in. Donations followed. Then things unravelled.

The Nigerian Medical Association in Delta State disowned the histology report she shared. The document, they said, was originally issued on May 9, 2025 by Xinus Medical Diagnostics in Asaba to a breast cancer survivor named Deborah Mbara, who had been referred for a confirmatory test.

Mbara told the press she met Okoro in 2025 while working as a make-up artist for her. When Okoro later went public with her cancer claims, Mbara reached out to offer support and shared her medical report when Okoro asked to compare it with hers. That report, Mbara alleges, was then doctored and passed off as Okoro’s own.

₦300 million question

A petition filed by Mbara’s lawyer, Sunny Anyanwu, claims over ₦300 million was raised through the campaign and that the funds were not remitted to the actual patient. The petition cites violations of the Cybercrime Act 2015 and the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act.

Okoro has since walked back her claims. In a recent interview with influencer Egungun of Lagos, she admitted raising ₦13 million and said she owed no one an apology. The gap between ₦13 million and ₦300 million is where this case will likely be decided.

The Nigerian Cancer Society has also filed petitions to the EFCC, the DSS, and the police, condemning the alleged false claims. As of press time, Okoro had not responded to the formal inquiries.

Sources: Punch, Ripples Nigeria, Politics Nigeria, BBC Pidgin, Nigerian Eye